I thought about the issue of concealed and open-carry laws, because here in Colorado it’s nice’n’legal on university campuses. But the fact of the matter is that most of us are unarmed all day long, and university “police” are effectively a private security detail. Why should we permit them to carry deadly weapons? (Why would they want them unless they’re a bunch of macho psycho gun-happy municipal-police force wannabes? Oh. . . )

]]>Comment on The National Review & Godwin’s Law by steviebill83http://historiann.com/2015/08/01/the-national-review-godwins-law/comment-page-1/#comment-55906
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 17:42:12 +0000http://historiann.com/?p=25798#comment-55906Ann, I haven’t read Guldi and Armitage, but what you describe sounds fantastic! I’ve written it down. It sounds like their priorities are right up my ally. The last two lectures of mine in the 2nd half of the US survey course I teach (post-1877) are on the 2008 financial crisis and climate change.

]]>Comment on Tips for bear-proofing your house: lock your doors and windows. (You’re welcome!) by Historiannhttp://historiann.com/2015/08/02/tips-for-bear-proofing-your-house-lock-your-doors-and-windows-youre-welcome/comment-page-1/#comment-55894
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 14:47:07 +0000http://historiann.com/?p=25808#comment-55894And yet: so few seem to have the sense that the benevolent creator gave a chipmunk!

I haven’t seen any stories about people complaining that cougars have eaten their miniature dogs yet, but those are probably right around the corner.

]]>Comment on Tips for bear-proofing your house: lock your doors and windows. (You’re welcome!) by Jacqueline Antonovichhttp://historiann.com/2015/08/02/tips-for-bear-proofing-your-house-lock-your-doors-and-windows-youre-welcome/comment-page-1/#comment-55893
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 14:37:12 +0000http://historiann.com/?p=25808#comment-55893First time I came across a bear in Colorado, I was with a friend in her cabin up the mountains. We were unloading the car and two cute-as-can-be little bear cubs came prancing out from the trees. I’m no dummy – I knew mama bear was around somewhere so we made haste for the cabin. Sure enough the mom came around a few minutes afterwards. Bear safety: it’s kind of a real thing you should know in Colorado.

]]>Comment on The National Review & Godwin’s Law by Historiannhttp://historiann.com/2015/08/01/the-national-review-godwins-law/comment-page-1/#comment-55892
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 14:09:37 +0000http://historiann.com/?p=25798#comment-55892Yes–I think Steven Colbert nailed this when he was on the Daily Show more than a decade ago.

I write this on a morning in which I read in the newspaper that people are now protesting fluoride in the water in Denver, demanding its removal. SERIOUSLY. It’s like we’re stuck in a tape loop dragging us back into Cold War fears and paranoia.

Life’s too short to live it crouching under your desk & worrying about invisible agents in our drinking water.

]]>Comment on The National Review & Godwin’s Law by Historiannhttp://historiann.com/2015/08/01/the-national-review-godwins-law/comment-page-1/#comment-55891
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 14:04:53 +0000http://historiann.com/?p=25798#comment-55891Steviebill83–have you read the History Manifesto yet by Jo Guldi and David Armitage? It’s a stirring call for historians to enter the public/political fray. Their big issues are climate change and wealth inequality, but as American historians in the U.S., we have a valuable perspective on politics and international affairs that should embolden us.

I also agree with you that the perspective that earlier U.S. and even colonial historians bring is really important. Teevee likes to focus only on the modern cinema reel/televisual era–from Hoover or FDR to the present–but that cuts out a tremendous amount of context and history for understanding U.S. intervention into global wars & politics in the 20th century. As you say, when viewed as part of a longue duree, the “good” wars seem a lot fewer in number than the bad (or disastrous) interventions.

]]>Comment on The National Review & Godwin’s Law by steviebill83http://historiann.com/2015/08/01/the-national-review-godwins-law/comment-page-1/#comment-55853
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 07:32:46 +0000http://historiann.com/?p=25798#comment-55853Good points, Ann. I agree that the American Revolution, US Civil War, and WWII were causes worth fighting for that ultimately had good outcomes. What I might emphasize is that even in these “good” wars, there were atrocities – abuses of civil liberties in all of them, including suspension of habeas corpus in both the Civil War and Japanese internment, to say nothing of the dropping of nuclear bombs. Perhaps one could make the case that abuse of civil liberties is bound to occur in any war, but 1) a nation should ideally show its greatness by protecting its values when the going gets tough, not when it’s easy; and 2) there can be unfortunate undercurrents even when a war is “good” in the long run. I might be more pacifistic and critical than many other historians, but I definitely regard the Am. Rev., Civil War, and WWII more as aberrations than the norm in the broad expanse of US foreign policy. In addition to all of the post-WWII misdeeds, which are pretty undeniable, we have the Spanish-American War, the Mexican-American War, cruel treatment of Native Americans, and all of the times we installed client states in Latin America that were subservient to the economic and political interests of the United States in the early twentieth century. It is in emphasizing these points, I think, that the left most differs from the right in its assessment of US foreign policy. The right would have us believe we’re the good guys in almost every case and I just don’t think that’s a fair representation of reality.

]]>Comment on The National Review & Godwin’s Law by Feminist Avatarhttp://historiann.com/2015/08/01/the-national-review-godwins-law/comment-page-1/#comment-55851
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 06:59:21 +0000http://historiann.com/?p=25798#comment-55851“I think the whole “objective,” “both sides,” virtuous middle ground ideal is a nineteenth-century concept that can often distort our search for meaning and clarity.” THIS! I’ve recently been wondering if we actually encourage that through our rhetorical education, where students should present both sides of the historical debate and present a resolution.